RE: [malware-list] [RFC 0/5] [TALPA] Intro to alinuxinterfaceforon access scanning

Press, Jonathan
2008-08-05T20:29:16Z

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg KH [mailto:greg@kroah.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 4:18 PM
To: Press, Jonathan
Cc: Arjan van de Ven; Eric Paris; linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org;
malware-list@lists.printk.net; linux-security-module@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [malware-list] [RFC 0/5] [TALPA] Intro to
alinuxinterfaceforon access scanning

On Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 02:38:23PM -0400, Press, Jonathan wrote:
> >> I think you might be missing the point a bit here, as the
traditional
> Unix model that
> >> Linux has prevents much of what the "traditional AV" products need
to
> do, right?
>
> Is your point that Linux and Unix machines are less vulnerable to
> viruses? If so, that's not relevant to my point at all. A Unix
machine
> can be a carrier, passing infections on to other vulnerable platforms
> (guess which one).

So you are going to try to force us to take something into the Linux
kernel due to the security inadiquacies of a totally different operating
system? You might want to rethink that argument :)

[JON PRESS] On the contrary...you might want to rethink your reaction.
The security inadequacies of that other operating system that happens to
have a 90+% market sure are exactly why Linux and other OS's that
coexist with it should be more conscious of their own interactions with
it. Enterprises that see Linux as a potential breeding ground for
infestations are less likely to tolerate Linux in their environment.
Why do you think we have so many customers who have a corporate mandate
to have AV software on all machines, no matter what platform type?

thanks,
greg k-h